Search - Zaman: The Man from the Reeds on DVD

Do you see this palm tree . . . It has never complained to a

Utah Blaine | Somewhere on Trexalon in District 268 | 08/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Zaman lives in southern Iraq in the Tigris/Euphrates delta with his wife and adopted son. Zaman's wife, Najma, becomes critically ill and he must travel to Baghdad to find the correct medicine and save her life. What follows is the ups and downs of Zaman's journey to Baghdad. We watch both Zaman's journey and his wife's concern, and come to understand the profound love that each has for the other. Along the way there are some beautiful shots of the Tigris/Euphrates delta, and a small slice-of-life window into pre-invasion Iraq (both of the Marsh Arabs and big city life). Zaman's obstacles are not huge or overly dramatic (i.e. he isn't trying to get to Baghdad during a war). He faces pretty much the same problems that anyone would face traveling to a distant city to search for something (e.g. many of the pharmacies don't have the medicine, and when he finds a clinic/hospital that does, they won't give him the medicine without the proper documentation). This film is set just before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, but the invasion (or the events leading up to the invasion) plays almost no role in the film. Beautiful cinematography and silently emotional. The tragic ending is fairly predictable, but it is Zaman's adopted son who, by returning to a theme presented early in the film, puts everything in perspective for Zaman. A low key film with a touching love affair that is definitely recommended if not uniquely outstanding."